The invention relates generally to the field of database systems, and, more particularly, to a database grouping and display system for a personal computer.
Data analysis has long played an essential role in corporate management. Without the ability to adequately analyze, summarize, and manipulate raw data the efficiency of a corporation suffers. Traditionally, a dedicated application program performs data analysis and reporting.
Many of these database application programs are complex and unwieldy to use. A user often needs specialized knowledge to perform even basic tasks, let alone sophisticated analysis. Further, a simple action such as grouping a database or creating a table from raw data may necessitate lengthy user commands, such as designating the table axes, selecting the group criteria, indicating the source data, and/or physically moving database record entries to obtain an adequately grouped result.
Prior art solutions addressed database grouping through the use of simplified interfaces known as program xe2x80x9cwizards.xe2x80x9d These wizards greatly simplify the database grouping process by minimizing the number of options and/or inputs necessitated from a user. However, because designers of these wizards presume that each wizard will be used to manipulate a particular type of data, the simplified interfaces may be inflexible and lead to inaccurate tables or cross-sections of data when a user applies the wizard to different types of data.
Database applications commonly may create summary values for data tables. Typically, a data page other than the detailed data page displays this summary value. Presenting summary values on separate display surfaces unnecessarily frustrates the user as he is forced to swap back and forth between multiple display surfaces for a complete data analysis.
Additionally, database application programs are often prohibitively expensive. With prices in the hundreds or thousands of dollars per copy, and tens of thousands of dollars for a corporate license, data analysis and reporting may be prohibitively expensive. This is even more true in the case of a small or start-up business.
Thus, there is a general need in the art for a data analysis tool that quickly and efficiently groups data in a simplified manner that is easily apprehended by a casual or novice user. There is a further need in the art for a simplified data analysis tool that accurately reports results in a manner desired by the user. There is also a need for a data analysis tool that presents summary values within the same display surface as the raw data. Inexpensive data analysis tools that are affordable by individuals or small companies are also desirable.
Generally stated, the invention is a database grouping and display system for a personal computer. The database grouping and display system displays a raw, ungrouped database and allows a user to manipulate it as desired. The system displays the raw database and any manipulation results within a window of a web browser, thus allowing data analysis to be performed with the use of a common and inexpensive program. A user may group record entries within a database by common data entry. The user may group the record entries by row, by column, or by row and column. Each record entry grouping is referred to as a xe2x80x9cmetacell.xe2x80x9d The database grouping and display system may further summarize the contents of each metacell and present a summary result along with the display of the metacell. This summary value may be invoked for a single row, column, or metacell, or for the entire document.
Further, the display state of the metacells may be toggled between a fully expanded and collapsed state. In the expanded state, all record entries within the metacell are visible, along with any summary values for the metacell. In a collapsed state, only summary values are shown in the metacell. This allows a user to see as much or as little detail for a metacell or range of metacells as desired.
All the database grouping and summary commands are implemented in a graphical user interface (GUI). This GUI system, combined with common input devices such as a mouse and keyboard, ensure that the learning curve for use of the present invention is minimal. Thus, even a novice or casual user may quickly and easily understand and apply the present invention to a database.
The present invention meets these needs in a database grouping and display system that orders raw data according to a user""s desires in response to simple and efficient input commands. The system retrieves a database file including a number of headings and record entries organized under the headings. The record entries are further comprised of a plurality of data entries organized under the plurality of headings. The present invention displays the database on a display device, along with at least one group drop area. In response to a command associating one of the headings with the group drop area, the heading becomes a group heading and the data entries associated with the group heading become group subheadings. The present invention then groups the database into groups of record entries called metacells and organizes the metacells according to group subheading. A metacell contains all record entries that contain a data entry corresponding to the group subheading with which the metacell is associated. Once the database is grouped, the present invention displays the metacells on the display device. A database may be grouped by row, column, or both. This allows a user to specify the fields upon which to group the database, and control the output of the group operation.
The invention may further perform various summary value operations on a metacell, including summing the values of numerical data entries within the metacell, counting the number of data entries within the metacell, displaying the minimum value of all numerical data entries within the metacell, and displaying the maximum value of all numerical entries within the metacell. The metacell associated with the summary value operation displays the resulting summary value. This ensures that the raw data underlying the summary value and the summary value itself are displayed on the same page, rather than forcing a user to swap back and forth between two display surfaces.
That the invention improves over the drawbacks of prior database grouping and display systems and accomplishes the advantages described above will become apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments and the appended drawings and claims.